Tubridy's tale

1 of 1

Ryan Tubridy

In front of Ryan is a posse of people. It's par for the course for a cover shoot at Ireland's biggest selling magazine, but Ryan's a little bit self-conscious. When asked if he could be a little more relaxed, he laughs, "Relaxed? As I can be with ten people staring at me". The summer holidays are well and truly over.

Dressed in a very smart blue suit ("I haven't worn a suit in months", he insists), Ryan's here for a series of shots to coincide with his return to the RTÉ 2fm schedule.

The fun really begins with the second location, the far cosier confines of a nearby editing room. In the middle of it all, with photographer, camera equipment, lighting and of course Ryan, all competing for space, a clock falls to the floor and breaks. Oops!

Finally, there's a gathering of the crew that will be helping to put Ryan's new show together. All done and dusted by around 2.15pm and then it's just Ryan and myself for a chinwag in the Radio Centre canteen.

For the last few years, he's been on Radio 1, but following the untimely death of Gerry Ryan in May, Ryan Tubridy now takes over the morning slot where Gerry ruled supreme for many years. It's deeply ironic that Ryan's taking on Gerry's mantle, given he was a fan during his formative years, worked as a runner on Gerry's show and went on to become a friend.

A famously early starter in broadcasting, the now 37-year-old Ryan Tubridy's been part of the RTÉ tapestry for more than two decades, but in recent years his stock has taken a dramatic rise. It's just seven years since we met in Tralee ahead of the 2003 Rose contest that he was to host, his first major break on TV. Mentioning that and the fact that he's been on an impressive upward trajectory ever since, he seems genuinely stunned by the relatively short timescale involved.

"Is that only seven years ago? It feels like about 30 years ago", he insists with an incredulous whisper. "It's just that so much has happened in such a small space of time; an awful lot. But a lot of things happened before they were meant to happen.

"I always thought Pat had another five or ten years, I really did", he says, recalling Pat Kenny's surprise decision last year to stand down from presenting The Late Late Show.

"And then, of course, Gerry passing the way he did, it was just an abhorrent departure. All these things, for different reasons, happened sooner than I expected them. So that might contribute to that sense of it all happening quite soon."

From this week on he's going to be presenting the biggest show on Irish telly, the institution that is The Late Late Show, while also hosting the biggest radio slot in the land - Ryan dismisses any thought of vertigo by the simple expedient of ignoring it.

"It's a big heap and there's a few of us out there", he offers, before summing up his thoughts on taking over The Late Late just 12 months ago. "I think the big thing for me last year was The Late Late Show. That was huge because of the legacy that Pat and Gay had left behind, but I did it, and I was very happy with it, actually. I was happy with the calibre of guests the team produced; I was happy with the production values; I was happy with the band. I was happy with the viewership numbers - it was very satisfying and very heartening to know that people still watch it and in big numbers. So that was very gratifying as it kind of meant that, hopefully, the bosses made the right decision."

Part of the deal that goes with being a radio or TV personality is that you can take it in your stride or your life can become unbearable. As anyone who's ever been successful in media or entertainment will tell you: as soon as you take time to start admiring yourself, or taking what you do too seriously, you're in trouble.

Sure, it beats the hell out of doing a job you dislike, but few careers are as public as those in broadcasting, where (if you're lucky) an entire nation watches you at work. Ryan Tubridy is in a media glare that can be daunting if you haven't the stomach for it. Or for the possibility of failure.

"The floor could fall from under you - and that's the nature of the job; the buzz of the job", Ryan notes, admitting the fear factor. "You just don't know. You have to have a very comfortable relationship with adrenaline, and you have to know how to play it and how to roll with it, because it's quite intense. That red light is an addictive little thing."

But the Ryan Tubridy sitting opposite me is a man just back from his summer holidays, not some guy at the end of his tether. He's relaxed, refreshed, ready to rock and just dying to get going.

"I went away with my kids and so on, and we had a lovely break", he grins. "I spent a lot of time in the west of Ireland, doing a bit of fishing. I've become quite a predictable creature in that way. I'd a lovely time, I just spent a lot of time doing a lot of reading, a lot of fishing and a few pints of Guinness as well. In Connemara, I saw a lot of people from Ireland staying at home on holiday. It was quite nice to see the people putting money back into the country, which I thought was a good, very healthy development.

"Anyway, I'd a lovely holiday, and I listened to a lot of radio, I listened to a lot of the competition to see what's out there - what's good, what's bad, what's indifferent. I took notes and now here I am, back in business."

Professionally, it's been an amazing last 12 months or so for Ryan. After taking on The Late Late, he's succeeding Gerry Ryan on RTÉ 2fm. It's some challenge - but it's one that Ryan's facing, confident that Gerry is smiling down on him.

"He was the guy that I listened to when I was growing up, when I was in secondary school and in college and whatever", he recalls. "And who later became my friend, and also my mentor. I've tried not to think too hard about the emotional end of this, because I dealt with that at the time, when it was just so . . . It's impossible to explain how difficult it was to comprehend somebody that important to me, is not going to be there any more.

"I don't think I've got my head around it fully yet. It was so sudden, it was so cruel. There's a lovely book about JFK by Robert Dallek, JFK: An Unfinished Life and that's what Gerry's life was, it was unfinished. There was so much more to come. I miss him an awful lot, and I just wish I wasn't doing this show under these circumstances.

"But I am doing it, and I've had to think long and hard about doing it, and I think he'd be okay with it. His family have said extremely generous things to me about him, and his attitude towards me, and with that in mind, I think that there's a good sense of there being a blessing in the wind about this. So, that I have to deal with and get on with the show."

The good news for listeners is that Ryan Tubridy the host has also been thinking long and hard about Tubridy the radio show. It's hardly surprising to hear that he's sticking to a tried and trusted formula: what you're getting is Ryan Tubridy.

"I didn't go into The Late Late Show trying to be Gay Byrne or Pat Kenny, I went in being myself. The only thing that's got me through in this business is being myself, because if you try to be somebody else, then you're just another version of something else. And people see through that."

Confident rather than cocky, Ryan aims to shake things up a little on RTÉ 2fm. He feels that "radio in the morning at nine o'clock needs a kick in the arse, frankly. And I think it's my job to give it the kick. I've got the best team I could possibly assemble. Now we just need to get on the road. The talking has to stop - and it has to start!"

He's very keen to emphasise that he finds his latest challenge more than a little daunting, no matter what's gone before or how accomplished he is as a broadcaster.

"I am nervous", he insists, giving me those Bambi eyes. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm kind of swaggering into the studio saying, 'I've done this all before'. This is very new. This is going into a cave with no torch. What have we got there? What do they want? Are they going to enjoy what you do? There's a severe sense of expectation, and with that in mind, a nervousness, but I've taken on big jobs before and I hope to summon up all the ability that's taken me to here to move on to the next step."

Personally, Ryan Tubridy's also in a good place. Like everyone, he's had his ups and downs, but he fully accepts and is very grateful that his life has turned out pretty well, thank you very much, and he's done more than alright for a Blackrock kid who could never keep his gob shut.

"I'm good. I am very lucky. I'm very fortunate", he says, searching for the words to sum up his own life. "I was trying to explain to a few people during the summer, they were saying to me: 'How do you find your job? Do you like your job?' And I said, look, I don't have very many skills. I don't have very much to offer. But what I can do is talk and if people are willing to listen and watch, well that's me done. For me it's a dream job.

"I think, even now more than ever, I appreciate the excitement . . . because there's such a lot of people in trouble. You hear people crying on Liveline. Jesus, they have it bad! I have nothing to complain about. I like doing what I do, and I like working with the people I work with. I've a bunch of friends and a great family, and a few pints, and nothing to complain about. Life is good."

John Byrne